The Pure White Princess

"Rumble!!"

"?!"

The Ferris wheel lost power and immediately stopped turning.

Nan Xiaofeng reacted sharply, quickly recovering from the imbalance. She released her magic power and immediately stabilized the cabin she was in.

"What happened?!"

The white mink spirit poked its head out of Nan Xiaofeng's backpack and asked in shock.

"I was about to ask you! Go out and see what's going on!"

"Xiaofeng, wait for me—Waaahhhhh!?"

Bailing's terrified scream drew both Nan Xiaofeng's and Hua Ling's attention.

The two stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

"What..." "That is..."

The Ferris wheel stood on Lakeheart Island.

And on the lake not far away stood a gigantic, pitch-black monster! Its gaze was fixed firmly on Lakeheart Island!

""Monster!""

Nan Xiaofeng and Bailing cried out at the same time.

"A monster?... So that's a monster? That size... isn't it a little too..."

Hua Ling said fearfully, her voice trembling.

"So, Xiaofeng... you've been fighting things like this all along?"

"I have been fighting monsters, but I've never seen one this huge!"

Nan Xiaofeng answered honestly, equally stunned.

That thing was at least thirty meters tall! The biggest monster she had ever fought was Black Wolf that night! When had she ever seen a monster this enormous?!

This could no longer be called a monster! This was a kaiju!

"Damn it!"

Nan Xiaofeng clenched her teeth and slammed a fist against the cabin window.

Heartmoon Fox was definitely behind this!

As a densely populated location, Rongcheng Amusement Park had always been a key surveillance area for the Hero Association. Even the slightest fluctuation of Astral Realm magic power would be detected and dealt with promptly!

How could such a gigantic monster suddenly appear?!

"Crack-boom!!"

The monster took a step. The lake churned violently, and even the ground trembled.

Its target was clearly this powerless Ferris wheel!

"Hua Ling, stay here and don't move! Bailing, protect her!"

Nan Xiaofeng pulled a golden cross-shaped star from her pocket and spoke to the two behind her.

"Xiaofeng, you want to fight something like that? Are you crazy?!"

Bailing hurriedly tried to stop her.

"The Hero Association already knows about this! Leave it to them! It's too dangerous for you to go alone!"

"—If I don't stop it, everyone will be in danger!"

Nan Xiaofeng turned back and said resolutely.

Hua Ling stared blankly at Nan Xiaofeng's retreating figure. As Magical Girl Hyacinth appeared outside the cabin, a sense of helplessness instantly filled her entire body.

For no reason at all, Hua Ling recalled that bloodstained parking lot.

But the thunderous boom that followed immediately dragged her thoughts back to reality.

"Boom!!"

"Rumble!!!"

The greatsword slashed down, and magic power erupted.

The sky-blue magical girl struck from midair. The giant monster that looked somewhat like Godzilla took a step back, steadied itself, and shifted its gaze from the Ferris wheel to Hyacinth.

"It's a magical girl!"

"Hyacinth is here!"

"Beat that thing flat!"

The wailing people on the Ferris wheel seemed to have seen their savior and cheered together with the people on the ground.

Nearly everyone had seen videos of Heartmoon Fox and Hyacinth. Some might joke after dinner about Heartmoon Fox teasing Hyacinth, but when faced with a real monster, they still offered their cheers to this magical girl.

Hyacinth hovered in midair, glaring at the gigantic monster before her with clenched teeth.

Beat it flat?

Don't make her laugh!

She had poured all her magic power into that slash just now! Yet it had merely taken one step back!

Where the hell had this monster come from?!

"Ow... my butt hurts..."

Su Tianqing rubbed her backside and tried to stand. Nan Jiayu hurriedly helped up the Golden Fox before her, whose ears and tail had all puffed up furiously.

"Tianqing! Tianqing, are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"My butt... my butt hurts so much from the fall..."

Su Tianqing frowned tightly in pain.

Who the hell could have known the Ferris wheel would suddenly lose power?!

If Nan Jiayu had not shielded her just then, a sore butt probably would not have been the only problem.

"Roarrrrr!"

A deep roar came from outside the cabin.

The two turned to look. Seeing the giant monster rising over twenty meters above the lake, they both froze.

"It's so big... What is that thing..." Nan Jiayu could not believe her eyes.

—Nan Jiayu considered herself well-informed.

But even she had never seen such an enormous monster.

Su Tianqing found it even harder to believe. She rubbed her eyes again and again, while her ears lay flat against her head and trembled.

That was way too huge!

Codex, did you have to be this literal with the thing you gave me?! It's so huge that this fox can't control it at all!

What if Hyacinth gets beaten to a pulp? How am I supposed to command this monster afterward?

Thinking of all the trouble to come made Su Tianqing tremble with anxiety.

Seeing the golden-furred Fox Fox beside her shivering, Nan Jiayu hurriedly pulled her into an embrace and gently soothed her.

"Don't be afraid, Tianqing. Don't be afraid."

"I... I'm not afraid... I'm just... just..." Golden Fox stammered.

But to Nan Jiayu, she simply sounded incoherent from being scared senseless.

Just as the catgirl was about to say something else, a series of explosive blasts rang out in the distance, followed by another deep roar!

Hua Ling pressed herself against the cabin window and watched helplessly as Hyacinth was swatted into the water by the monster—only to quickly fly back into the air.

Though drenched from head to toe, she kept firing blue magical missiles at it without pause.

But whether it was the magical missiles or the greatsword attacks... neither had any effect at all!

"No! This monster definitely isn't something a single magical girl can handle! It's too strong!"

Bailing flapped her wings anxiously in the air as she spoke.

"Then what do we do? Will Xiaofeng be in danger?" Hua Ling asked nervously.

Bailing nodded.

"If this keeps up, she'll definitely be in danger. The Hero Association is urgently mobilizing magical girls from the neighboring city to support us, but even if they fly at full speed... it'll take at least fifteen minutes!"

Fifteen minutes.

Hua Ling did not think Nan Xiaofeng could hold out for fifteen minutes against a monster like that.

Even if she could, this Ferris wheel—and perhaps the entire amusement park—would be reduced to ruins by the monster!

"Oh no!"

Bailing suddenly cried out.

Hua Ling looked up and saw only a scorching white beam blast from the monster's mouth, striking Hyacinth directly before she could evade it!

[Magic Breath]

A figure flew out of the white light and crashed into the carousel that had already been urgently evacuated, kicking up a huge cloud of dust!

Hua Ling's mind buzzed.

Bailing was already screaming as she rushed over to check on Hyacinth. Inside the cabin, all that could be heard was the monster's footsteps as it advanced toward Lakeheart Island, each one so heavy it seemed capable of shaking the earth.

Xiaofeng... was hit...?

She was hit by an attack like that?

After a brief silence, cries and sobs rose from the Ferris wheel once more.

Without a magical girl to stop the monster, the people on the Ferris wheel would face only one fate.

"Sister Tianqing... and Sister Jiayu... they're still on the Ferris wheel..."

Hua Ling murmured to herself. Her trembling hand clenched into a fist, but she remained powerless.

What could she do?

Magical Girl Hyacinth had already been knocked down. Her condition was unknown, and she probably could not rise from the ruins anytime soon.

Hua Ling remembered last night.

She had received a Guardian Star from Bailing and tried to transform into a magical girl on the rooftop, but nothing happened at all.

She had to earn the Guardian Star's recognition—that was what Bailing had said.

Hua Ling picked up her small shoulder bag from the seat.

The golden cross-shaped star lay quietly in one of its compartments. Besides it was a small note.

"I believe in you, Hua Ling."

"If it's you, you'll definitely be able to resolve this smoothly, right?"

"If you really can't solve it, just quietly tell me. Big Sister will help you take care of it~ I'll definitely keep your secret."

Delicate handwriting covered the slip of paper.

Hua Ling lowered her head to look at the Guardian Star in her hand, then at the tiny note covered in words.

"Sister Tianqing..."

The girl silently tightened her grip on the cross-shaped star.

There were still people on the Ferris wheel who needed protecting.

Sister Tianqing, Sister Jiayu, and all those other tourists she did not know.

As long as she could earn the Guardian Star's recognition... No, she definitely would!

"Answer me! O stars!!"

[Mission: Expansion · Phase Three, completed]

Su Tianqing, who had been focusing on mentally controlling the monster, froze for a moment as the Codex's deep voice rang in her mind.

The little fox felt there was no longer any need to check the mission's completion progress.

—The dazzling flash before her was proof enough.

"Boom!!!!"

A pillar of light engulfed the monster's chest. Accompanied by a strange burst of magic power came a thunderous blast nearly powerful enough to shatter glass!

"Rumbleee!!!"

"######!!"

The monster staggered back several steps. The hand it had extended toward the Ferris wheel was blasted away, and it toppled backward, smashing a huge crater into the now-empty plaza by the shore!

"What?! That was..."

Within the ruins, Bailing was desperately scattering magic particles over the incapacitated Nan Xiaofeng to help her recover. Both of them saw that brilliant, dazzling light.

[Magic Cannon]

Hyacinth was a magical girl who specialized in close combat and could not use this kind of high-firepower magic, though she had heard Bailing mention it.

That Magic Cannon definitely had not been fired by her! Then where had it come from?!

"—Magic power, loaded."

A clear, elegant voice came from nearby.

"Target, locked."

Hyacinth forced herself to stand and looked toward the white girl floating before the Ferris wheel, blocking the monster's path.

A cascade of white hair flowed down her back. An elegant court-style dress wrapped around her body, accentuating her youthful curves, while a resplendent golden crown rested atop her head, making her look like a bright and beautiful queen.

If the white cannon formed from her magic wand beside her was included, then she was probably a beautiful queen of artillery.

"Magic Cannon—fire."